Edited by author 07-01-2003 03:00 PM
I think there's a crying need for something like a Social Software institute. There are many different constituencies each with their own wants, needs and desires all of which need to be addressed in the design and implementation of Community Enabling Applications.

I have yet to see any single application or group of applications that fits MY list of requirements (and I've been on the inside of designing a couple).

Someone, and my suggestion is that that be the "Social Practitioner" for want of a better term, needs to be responsible for integrating the engineering, management, and user needs and lead the development of a solution that addresses them all.

The problem is that there's no certification for being a "Social Practitioner". We all know it's not rocket science, but it IS a craft and there are definitely right and wrong ways to go about building community on-line.

The great difficulty is that for those that have not been part of developing a community, an "if we build it, they will come" mentality prevails.

Frequently we become involved after a great deal of time and money has been spent deploying a failed effort and we're charged with making what's gone before work without regard to the difficulties or appropriateness of the solution in place.

In general, there's a low recognition among client management of what's needed to make a community successful. There's no good one size fits all engineering solution, and there's no organization to increase the respect for the practice of the art or credential the good practitioners from the clueless.